[Daily Excelsior] Afghan special forces freed 59 prisoners from a Taliban jail in Helmand, officials said today, as government troops redouble their efforts to drive back the insurgents who have seized large parts of the volatile southern province.

Islamist militants have launched a series of attacks in the capital, Kabul, in recent weeks and a tough fight is underway in key districts in the south, just as attempts have been made to revive a stalled peace process.

Afghan Defence Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said 37 of the captives freed from the jail, which was just to the north of the Helmand provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, were soldiers.
Continued on Page 49

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] At least four bombers were killed after they were blown up by own explosives in western Herat...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... province of Afghanistan, it has been reported.

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the four bombers were looking to carry out a coordinated attack using a truck packed with explosives in Herat province.

A statement by MoI said the snuffies were on their way towards Shindand province to execute the attack when the truck packed with explosives went off in Zer-e-Koh area.

The statement further added that the kaboom did not incur any casualties to the civilians or members of the security forces and only four bad boyz were potted.

No group including the Talibs has so far grabbed credit behind the incident.

Herat is among the relatively volatile provinces in western Afghanistan where anti-government armed forces of Evil are actively operating in a number of its remote districts.

This comes as the insurgency activities by the anti-government armed murderous Moslem groups have been rampant during the recent months across the country including capital Kabul...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....The Taliban group has carried out two suicide kabooms in the capital within the past one week, leaving at least three people dead and scores of others maimed.

At least two non-combatants were killed and 18 others were maimed in the latest attack on a resturant in Kabul city on Friday evening.

In comments on state radio, Somalia's information minister, Mohammed Abdi Hayir, blamed the attack on al-Shabaab... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda..., the al Qaeda-aligned Islamist holy warriors who wage frequent attacks in the capital as part of a campaign to bring down the Western-backed Somali government.

"The al-Shabaab suicide bomber did not cause many casualties," he said, adding that most of the people in the restaurant were able to escape before the bomb exploded.

A front man for the group could not be reached for comment.

Saturday's (Sunday NZT) attack marked the third time suicide bombers have attacked the restaurant,

On Friday (Saturday NZT), al-Shabaab holy warriors attacked a cop shoppe in the capital, and police said that three of them were killed. Police showed journalists pictures of the dead, but al-Shabaab denied they had lost anyone in the attack.

[CNN] An al Qaeda affiliate has apparently released a new recruitment video, telling Muslims in America that the country has a long history of racism and discrimination and will turn on its Muslim community.Bite my ass, Islam.
The video purportedly by Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... uses historic civil rights era footage of firebrand...firebrands are noted more for audio volume and the quantity of spittle generated than for any actual logic in their arguments... Malcolm X and audio of 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump to label the United States a racist society.

In the wake of the San Bernardino, Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, shootings last month, Trump said he wanted "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on."

#2
Islam is a total disaster, total, hell they can't charge interest. Turn me loose in the Souk, I'll own Iraq in 3 hours, package it with Lebanon and short the Saudis. Soon there will be peace and WINNING!

Here try this, it's Egyptian Cotton covered with chocolate, buy 5 lbs get 12 eggs free, remember, we all have a piece of the action.

Prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr was among 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia on Saturday, triggering an angry response from across the Shiite world, including the kingdom’s archenemy, Iran.

The official Saudi Press Agency listed Nimr’s name among 47 people who were executed on Saturday morning in the capital Riyadh and 12 other cities. Some were beheaded, others were killed by firing squads, according to Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry. Nimr, 56, was a key figure in the protests that erupted among Sunni Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority in 2011, inspired by the Arab spring revolts elsewhere in the region.

The execution risks stirring renewed unrest among Shiites in the kingdom, and drew an immediate harsh response from Iran, which has warned in the past that carrying out the death sentence on Nimr could cost Saudi Arabia dearly.

It could also ignite unrest in neighboring Bahrain, where widespread protests among the country’s Shiite majority against the Sunni royal family were quelled by Saudi military intervention in 2011. Police in Bahrain fired tear gas to disperse several dozen people who took to the streets to protest the execution in a village west of the capital Manama, Reuters reported, citing eyewitnesses.

Nimr was arrested by Saudi security forces in 2012, after being shot in the legs during a car chase in the mostly Shiite eastern province of Qatif, where the protests had been concentrated.He had been charged with “instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom’s security,” as well as delivering speeches against the government and defending political prisoners.

Most of the 47 executed on Saturday had been convicted for participating in Al Qaeda related attacks in the past decade, the Associated Press said. Two were citizens of Egypt and Chad, and the rest were Saudi nationals.

#6
the US, china and russia should form a coalition to invade the KSA and Iran

occupy for 30 years WWII style with a soldier on every corner

ban religion

all children to be educated in secular boarding schools away from their families. In those schools they are taught english maths science history and geography. They are taught logic and evidence and evaluating argument. They are taught comparative religion which means they learn about all the worlds religions and atheism

they are not forced to memorise the koran in arabic, they are not brainwashed into believing anything. They are simply taught that these religions exist and are told what it is that they believe and the evidence that exists for it (which is none at all)

[Dhaka Tribune] A Chittagong court yesterday sent three members of banned bully boy outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen BangladeshThe JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt. (JMB) to prison after they were interrogated during a five-day remand in a case filed under the Anti-terrorism Act.

Metropolitan Magistrate Rahmat Ali sent Naimur Rahman Noyon, Shawkat Rasel and Faisal Mahmud to jail as police produced them before the court after the end of remand.

The trio were locked awayDon't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! in possession of firearms in different parts of the port city on December 27 last year, and were shown arrested in the case filed with Karnaphuli cop shoppe on October 6.

They all were students of physics at Chittagong University but their studentships were suspended by the university authorities for suspected link to militancy.

After arresting the three, Detective Branch (DB) officials raided a JMB den in the city's Aman Bazar area and recovered American semiautomatic MK 11 sniper rifle along with 250 rounds, two magazines, 10 detonators, 12 sets of Bangladesh Army uniforms, and some books and other documents.

DB's Additional Deputy Commissioner Babul Akhtar said Fardin alias Noman, chief of JMB in Chittagong, rented the den five to six months ago, identifying himself as a businessman named Nafis.

[Hurriyet] The Turkish Chief of General Staff announced on Jan.2 that a total of 261 murderous Moslems of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) have been killed in the ongoing operations in three southeastern districts under curfew.

According to the Turkish military, 179 murderous Moslems have been killed in Sirnak's Cizre district, 27 have been killed in Silopi and 55 murderous Moslems have been killed in the Sur district of the southeastern province of Diyarbakir.

The three districts have been under curfew since early December, when the anti-terrorism operations by the security forces first started.

According the military's statement, three PKK murderous Moslems were killed in Cizre on Jan. 1, while three others were detained.

In Silopi, five PKK murderous Moslems were killed on Jan. 1. Fifteen improvised bombs (IEDs) were destroyed, seven barricades were removed and two digs were filled.

In Diyarbakir's historical Sur district, one PKK murderous Moslems was killed while three barricades were destroyed. One school building was set on fire by the bad boys.

In the border district of Nusaybin in Mardin, a clash broke out between the security forces and PKK murderous Moslems who were trying to cross into The Sick Man of Europe Turkey...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... from Syria. The security forces seized six rifle clips, 210 bullets, one sniper binoculars, one grenade, two cameras and two radios.

In Sirnak, one suspects was detained on charges of aiding and abetting the PKK bad boys. One pistol, 14 bullets, three cell phones, two computers and two data storage devices were seized in the search at the suspect's house.

[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] An Ankara court on Saturday remanded in jug pending trial two Turkish men suspected of belonging to ISIS and planning a double suicide kaboom in the capital on New Year's Eve.

Musa Canoz, 28, and Adnan Yildirim, 40, who were detained in a raid on Wednesday, were tossed in the calabooseDrop the gat, Rocky, or you're a dead 'un! on charges of "possessing kabooms" and "membership of a terrorist organization", the Anatolia news agency reported.

They were sent to the Sincan prison in Ankara, it added. It was not clear when a trial may start.

Turkish officials said the pair were planning to strike an area in the centre of the city that was expected to be packed with revellers on the night of December 31. In the end, the celebrations passed peacefully.

The Sick Man of Europe Turkey...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... is on a high security alert after 103 people were killed on October 10 when two jacket wallahs destroyed a crowd of peace activists in Ankara in the worst attack in modern Turkey's history.

The Hurriyet daily reported that the pair had left Ankara in 2013 to join up with IS forces in Syria, where they received bomb-making training.

They then crossed back into Turkey in September this year, renting an apartment in the Mamak district of Ankara where they were detained.

It said they had been given final instructions over the Internet by an IS handler, an Arab with the codename Ebu Enes, on the day they were detained.

A third suspect, named as Z.A., has been detained on suspicion of providing logistical and transport support, it added.

The suspected bombers are believed by Sherlocks to have been acting on the orders of IS headquarters in their self-declared capital in Raqa, Syria, rather than independently, it added.

Long criticised by its allies for taking too soft a line against jihadists, Turkey is taking firmer action against the IS group on the border with Syria after being shaken by attacks on its soil and the Gay Paree assaults on November 13.

[Dawn] CHARSADDA: Three teachers of a government-run primary school were injured in an attack here on Friday.

Zahir Shah, one of the teachers, reported to the police that he and two colleagues — Adil Khan and Sahib Ali — were going home from the school when two unidentified men on a motorcycle opened fire on them on the main GT Road near Mirzagan graveyard.

The teachers suffered injuries and were taken to the district headquarters hospital in Charsadda. Adil Khan and Sahib Ali were later shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar for their serious condition.

According to Zahir Shah, the attackers were wearing mask.

Soon after the incident police reached the spot and interviewed eyewitnesses.

The incident created fear and panic in the area.

The motive for the attack is yet to be ascertained.

District president of Insaf Teachers Forum Mohammad Shafi and others condemned the attack and called for the arrest of attackers.

[Dawn] KARACHI: Four suspected gangsters and a bandit were killed in three shootouts with police in the city late on Friday, officials said.

In the first encounter that took place near the KPT bridge in Gizri area, a suspected bandit lost his life. Police said the suspect, who remains unidentified, was spotted while snatching cash and valuables from passersby near a private bank’s ATM.

“Our patrolling mobile was intercepted by some people who reported that two or three men on a motorbike had deprived them of cash near the KPT bridge,” said a Gizri police official.

“The police reached the place and found the armed youngsters. As the police moved forward, they fired shots at the mobile that triggered a shootout. After the brief encounter one of them fell injured and succumbed to wounds while being moved to hospital. His friends ran away,” the official said.

In Machhar Colony, two suspected gangsters were killed in a shootout with the Docks police. Police claimed to have found arms from their possession.

“Police raided a hideout in Machhar Colony on reports about the presence of some criminals there,” said a Docks police official. “The armed men in the hideout attacked policemen when they were taking positions in the area. The shootout left both criminals dead. The deceased could not be identified but we have reasons to believe that they were associated with a criminal gang operating in Lyari,” he said.

Two suspected gangsters were killed in a shootout in Baldia Town area. SSP city Fida Hussain said the deceased were identified as Jehangir Baloch and Mamdan Baloch, who were associated with the Shiraz Comrade gang.

[Dawn] KARACHI: Police’s Coun­ter-Terrorism Department arrested on Friday a man who was allegedly recruiting young men for the militant Islamic State (IS) group and had sent three militants to Syria, one of whom was killed there.

According to an official, the police’s special unit detai­ned Abdul Aziz alias Aziz Rehman from Orangi Town.

He belongs to the banned Jundullah (Haji Aqakhel group) and was collecting funds for the IS in Karachi and Quetta.

The official revealed that the suspect had confessed during initial investigation to having sent three trained young men to Syria. One of them, Jaffer, has been killed there, while the whereabouts of Hamza and Rasheed are not known.

Meanwhile, the Rangers claimed to have detained two suspected militants belonging to a banned group.

KOHAT: The Kohat police arrested wanted terrorist Rahim Badshah during a raid at camp of temporarily displaced persons on Saturday in the Doaba area.

The alleged terrorist was involved in several terrorist attacks and killings including the murder of Awami National Party’s local leader Mumtaz Khan. The police also recovered three hand grenades from his possession.

The suspect was shifted to an undisclosed location for further investigation.

District Police Officer (DPO) Ali Akbar said that the brick kiln labourers found nine sacks near Wanda Arsla police picket in Pirwala Mor area of Lakki Marwat. During search of sacks, the police found 61 RPGs, seven rockets and 63 fuses. Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) was called and defused the recovered weaponries.

The police cordoned off the area after the incident and conducted search operation but no arrest could be made.

[Daily Excelsior] Four terrorists, who struck at IAF base in Pathankot early today, had interacted with their handlers in Pakistain and family members after entering into the Indian territory from the International Border through the mobile telephones.

"We are about to enter, we are entering, we have split, we are successful in entering," one of the bandidossnuffies told his handler in Pakistain on the telephone. The Intelligence agencies had intercepted the conversation. They had intercepted four international calls to Pakistain from Bamiyal border area of Pathankot.

The Handler replied: "Good, Keep on posting us, reach your target''.

Another terrorist spoke to his family members: "I'm going to give my life''.

The Family member replied: "Eat your food and then do what you are there for''.

Sources said the conversation between murderous Moslem and his family indicated that his family members were aware of their kin's notorious plans.

The bandidossnuffies were in regular touch with their Pak handlers, who even arranged a taxi for them by calling from a mobile number of that country, sources said.

Sources said the bandidossnuffies had first used a Toyota Innova vehicle yesterday and it has been found that the driver was called from a Pakistain number.

Security agencies are verifying with the driver's family to find out whether he (driver) had been offering regular services to Pakistain-based smugglers, who have links with the terrorists, or was it a case of him not realising that it was a Pakistain number.

The driver of the Innova was called to a particular spot near Pathankot where the bandidossnuffies boarded the vehicle.

The sources said that the car was used for travelling on an untarred road and dumped after a while as the rim of the vehicle got damaged.

The terrorist then hijacked an SUV (Mahindra SUV X500) in which a Superintendent of Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....Police was travelling along with a friend and a cook.

The SP and the cook were forced to leave the vehicle while the friend, a jeweller, was taken as hostage.

The bandidossnuffies snatched a mobile phone from them and used it to dial the number in Pakistain which was used to call the driver of the Toyota Innova. From this number, they had called their handlers thrice and once to a family member who was told that they were on a suicide mission.

Security agencies have found that from the Pak mobile number, the handlers were actively giving the directions to the terrorists.

Since the Pak number was under surveillance, security agencies were able to find out the possible target of the terrorists, leading to dispatching of 160 NSG commandos, Army special forces besides others.

[Daily Excelsior] Police in North Kashmire's Sopore area today juggedDon't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! a holy warrior for killing a man and his infant son, four months ago while 10 persons were arrested by Police for stone pelting in South Kashmire's Pulwama district.

Police today arrested a holy warrior of Hizbul Mujahideen, Towheed Ahmad Mir son of Bashir Ahmad Mir of Mir Mohalla Yunusa in Sopore area of North Kashmire.

Mir was wanted by Sopore police for killing of a former holy warrior, Bashir Ahmad and his three year old son Burhan Ahmad in September last year. The killing of the duo led to widespread condemnations by both separatists and mainstream political parties.

A case (FIR No 70/2015 u/s 302. 307 RPC) was registered against snuffies for killing the duo and police started investigations and today arrested Mir.

Meanwhile,...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... in South Kashmire's Pulwama district, after days of violent protests against the holy warrior killings, police arrested 10 youths accused of being behind the stone-throwing incidents. The parts of the district continued to shut for the third day amid incidents of stone-pelting.

Six youth were arrested from Pulwama Town while 4 were held from Kakapora hamlet of the district in overnight raids. "The youths are involved in violent protests and that is why they have been arrested," said a senior police official. He said the arrested youth were also behind the attempts to install the insignia in the memory of slain snuffies which was, however, foiled by police.

The police official made it clear that they won't allow the installation of any holy warrior memorial in the Town. "This is against law and shall not be allowed at any cost," he added.

Pulwama is on boil since more than a week over the back-to-back killings of snuffies in twin shootouts.

Besides spontaneous shutdowns, the district areas witnessed large-scale violent stone-throwing protests. The stone-throwing left dozens of cops and protesters injured.

Meanwhile,...back at the mall, Clarissa suddenly spied Mr. Bartlett at the checkout counter. He was buying Grecian Formula!... shutdown was observed in the district for the third day. During the shutdown, festivities erupted in several areas while the protesters also stoned vehicles defying strike. However,you can observe a lot just by watching... police said the overall situation remained peaceful in district and there was no major violence.

[DAWN] An operation to secure a bad boy-hit Indian air base near the Pakistain border ended on Saturday with at least four suspected gunnies killed, police said, after an assault that threatens to undermine the two countries' fragile grinding of the peace processor.We had this yesterday. Jaish-e-Mohammad is a Pak govt proxy. Modi was in Islamabad on Christmas day. This is the usual response to anything like peace or reconciliation.
At least four gunnies alleged to be from Jaish-e-Mohammed group dressed in army uniforms infiltrated the Pathankot air base in northern Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....state at around 3:30 am.

Officials did not confirm the state broadcaster's reports that three security personnel had died at the base -- a rare targeting of an Indian military installation outside disputed Kashmire.

Special commandos secured the Pathankot air force base 14 hours after it was infiltrated by gunnies wearing Indian army uniforms, officials said.

"We have recovered four dead bodies and are searching for more. Our men are sanitising the area," H. S. Dhillon, a senior police chief for the Punjab region told AFP.

An army official confirmed the operation had ended and forces were checking the area for residual explosives.

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A security source in Anbar province said on Saturday, that 21 ISIS elements had been killed by an aerial bombing that took place in different areas in the province.

The source reported for IraqiNews.com, “The Iraqi Air Force and the international coalition aviation, in coordination with Anbar Operations, had managed to bomb two ISIS shelters for the ISIS in the area of Albu Aitha northeast of Ramadi and the area of al-Falahat west of Fallujah, resulting in the death of 21 ISIS elements, in addition to destroying the two shelters.”

The source also added, “The army’s engineering force was able to dismantle 46 explosive devices in Tal Masheda east of Ramadi and the area of Albu Aitha northeast of the city.”

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – A military source in Anbar province announced, that six ISIS elements had been killed, while three booby-trapped vehicles belonging to them were also destroyed during an air raid west of the province.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “Warplanes of the international coalition, in coordination with the leadership of the Iraqi army’s 7th brigade, had managed to bomb three booby-trapped vehicles for the ISIS in Haditha stores west of the city (160 km west of Ramadi),” pointing out that, “The coalition aviation destructed the booby-trapped vehicles and killed six ISIS elements.”

(IraqiNews.com) al-Anbar – Anbar police chief Hady Razikh announced the arrest of 30 ISIS elements, including senior leaders, during raids in the city of Ramadi.

Razikh said in a statement obtained by IraqiNews.com, “The security forces had detained 30 ISIS elements, including military leaders, during their attempt to flee from Ramadi and escape with the families that came to the security forces at the government complex in Ramadi.”

Razikh added, “The operation was based on intelligence and reports from the families that left Ramadi,” noting that, “The detainees were taken to the headquarters of the Anti-Terrorism Directorate.”

The head of the Anbar Provincial Council, Sabah Al-Karhut, told CNN the attacks happened in quick succession. He said the 10 vehicles targeted the Iraqi army's 10th Division base northeast of Ramadi.

Even though Iraqi forces have managed to drive ISIS jihadists out of the center of Ramadi, local tribal leaders said this week that ISIS still controls as much as 25% of the city, and significant pockets of ISIS resistance remain.

Still, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi visited the bombed-out city this week, raising the Iraqi flag and declaring that 2016 "will be the year we drive ISIS out of Iraq."

Security around schools in Tel Aviv and other crowded areas in the city were set to be bolstered Sunday in the wake of Friday's fatal shooting on Dizengoff Street.

As searches continued for the perpetrator of the shooting, the Tel Aviv Municipality said that it would deploy more security guards, although it encouraged the city's residents to adhere to their daily routine.My ex took our kid to school. Most of the students were no show, so he gets a holiday.

Security officials increasingly suspect that the murder of a taxi driver in Tel Aviv on Friday afternoon is connected to a fatal shooting attack in the city's Dizengoff Street that occurred a short time earlier, Walla news reported Saturday.

Police and the Shin Bet internal security service believe Israeli Arab Nashat Milhem, the suspected shooter who killed two people and injured six others at Simta Bar in the city center, was also involved in the killing of 42-year-old Ayman Shaaban, a Bedouin from Lod, the report said.
Continued on Page 49

[ARA] ERBIL – Extremists of the Islamic State (ISIS) executed on Saturday at least 15 rebel fighters from the Jaish al-Thuwar group in Syria’s northeastern province of Raqqa, military sources reported.

Rebels of Jaish al-Thuwar fight under the umbrella of the western–backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) –the most powerful Kurdish-Arab coalition fighting against the ISIS terror group in northern Syria.

ISIS militants had taken dozens of SDF fighters as hostages subsequent to clashes in the northern countryside of Raqqa.

“At least 15 fighters from the Jaish al-Thuwar rebel group were beheaded at the hands of ISIS terrorists on Saturday,” a spokesman for the SDF confirmed in an interview with ARA News.

“ISIS tries to intimidate the SDF forces by such actions, especially after our units have made remarkable gains against the terror group in Hasakah and the northern countrysides of Raqqa and Aleppo,” he said.

“Our message to those barbarians is that nothing can stop our progress, and we will soon eliminate the terror group from the Syrian soil.”

The radical group of the Islamic State had taken more than 40 rebel fighters of Jaish al-Thuwar as hostages last week, most of them were captured during clashes with the SDF units in the vicinity of Ain Issa town north of Raqqa.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) include Kurdish units of the YPG and YPJ, the Syriac Military Council, the Arab tribal group of al-Sanadeed, al-Jazeera brigades, Jaish al-Thuwar group and Burkan al-Furat battalion. The SDF has recaptured more than 220 towns and villages in Hasakah province over two months since its establishment. After announcing a new anti-terror campaign two weeks ago, the alliance regained control of several strategic areas in the northern countrysides of Raqqa and Aleppo.

[ARA] ERBIL – U.S. air force conducted a new airstrike on the Iraqi city of Tel Afar, killing head of the ISIS-led Sharia Court and other militants of the radical group of Islamic State in the city, a security source confirmed on Saturday.

Hisham Hussein Shakhbalar al-Afri, leading member of ISIS and head of the Sharia Court in Tel Afar, was reported dead along with Taha Muhammad Nur Qazzan, chief of al-Hisba branch, in a U.S.-led airstrike, an Iraqi security source told ARA News.

“Also, 11 escorts of the two officials were killed in the raid that targeted their convoy in Tel Afar,” the source said, under the condition of anonymity.

In the meantime, warplanes of the western coalition hit an ISIS weapons storage facility in the vicinity of Tel Afar, according to ISIS-linked sources.

The coalition’s airstrikes have recently killed dozens of prominent members of the radical group across Syrian and Iraq, besides hitting tactical units and oil fields held by ISIS.

[ARA] TEL ABYAD – Three militants of the Islamic State (ISIS) were killed on Saturday in a raid by the Kurdish security forces of the Asayish in the Syrian border city of Tel Abyad north of Raqqa.

The Asayish forces raided several houses in Tel Abyad, searching for ISIS suspects.

“Three terrorists were killed in a security raid by our forces in the city of Tel Abyad. When they tried to resist, clashes broke out and they were eventually killed,” the Asayish leadership said in a statement on Saturday.

“They had infiltrated into the city to launch suicide attacks,” it added.

On Wednesday, a group of ISIS militants attacked the Kurdish forces in Tel Abyad and bombed a security center there.

“A group of ISIS terrorists infiltrated into Tel Abyad and detonated explosives inside a building for the Asayish security forces. The explosion caused a large destruction in the building and claimed lives of several Kurdish forces,” a spokesman for the Asayish told ARA News, adding: “Three ISIS terrorists were killed in clashes that broke out subsequent to the attack and two others were arrested, while the rest escaped the city towards Raqqa.”

The Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) recaptured the strategic city of Tel Abyad on the border with Turkey in June, subsequent to fierce battles against ISIS militants. Since then, the Kurdish security force of the Asayish has been running the city together with a local civil administration.

The historical city of Palmyra has been under the control of Islamic State’s (ISIS) militants since May, when the group stormed headquarters of the Syrian army and seized the whole city subsequent to fierce clashes.

[RUDAW.NET] A team of Kurdish and coalition special forces raided the town of Hawija on Saturday and killed a number of Islamic State...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) krazed killers.

Rudaw has learned that the raid was on the ISIS cop shoppe in Hawija and it lasted two hours.

Brigadier Sarhad Qadir of the Kirkuk suburban police said that a few such small raids by Kurdish and coalition commandos have been conducted in recent weeks.

Hawija is 55 Km southwest of Kirkuk and is considered an ISIS stronghold.

The biggest and first such raid against the radical group took place in October where US and Kurdish commandos stromed and ISIS jail and freed 70 hostages.

Late last month a similar raid against a courthouse of the Islamic group in the town of Riyad also led to the killing of several krazed killers.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.